Ikea's 2020 Collections Were Made To Solve Your Small Apartment Woes

Ikea’s annual Democratic Design Days is a two-day event where the Swedish design brand shares big news on upcoming projects and efforts. This year, we learned that the collaboration with Solange Knowles’ creative agency, Saint Heron, is well under way. Ikea fans can also look forward to exciting artists collaborations with a renewed commitment to using recycled materials and making more accessible furniture.

But a good portion of Ikea’s forthcoming collections centre on the plight of the overcharged and square footage-deficient city apartment dweller. Earlier this year, Ikea’s first New York City outpost was revealed to be a Planning Studio specifically focused on solving the city renter’s dilemma. The planning studio had solutions for everything from oddly-shaped pre-war apartments to overly-strict landlords. Here are four Ikea collections you can hope will help take your small city apartment to the next level in 2020.

Say goodbye to the age of Murphy beds, because Ikea’s forthcoming line of robotic furniture will take double-duty to new heights. In collaboration with robotic furniture startup, Ori, Ikea is gearing up to introduce the public to PLASTA, a new kind of storage solution. The available renderings of this now project show an L-shaped bench that takes up the whole wall of what looks like a narrow studio. Behind the bench there is floor-to-ceiling storage solution. The whole unit slides away from the wall to reveal a full-sized bed, a closet, a small shelf unit and a pull-out desk, on the opposite side of the bench. The first launch of ROGNAN will be in Japan and Hong Kong sometime next year.

Ikea joined forces with Greyhound Original, a Bangkok-based fashion company-turned-café, to produce a collection of multi-use furniture pieces with a strong aesthetic point of view. It looks like industrial clothing rack on wheels and what looks like a kitchen island are in store. Taking design inspiration from all over the Asian continent, the collection will cater to “small spaces, tight budgets” and shoppers with “a wish to express [themselves] through unique objects and expressive design.” Turns out, all over the world, people want to make their small apartment look cute, on a budget.

Rising rents and a rotation of roommates means we end up packing it all up and starting anew in a different apartment on an almost yearly basis. Ikea hopes that with RÅVAROR, you can have your cute and well-organised apartment and move into your next place with ease. In September, you’ll be able to shop the 20-piece collection, which includes mini kitchens, daybeds, storage boxes, castors, and sofas. All made to turn your apartment into a home and make the move to the next place that much easier.

Who doesn’t love a good house plant? There aren’t enough windowsills and solitary stools in the world to satisfy some of the most passionate plant parents. And while that indoor herb garden set at Trader Joe’s looks tempting, there’s more to growing your own food than setting a pot near a windowsill. That’s why, last year, Ikea reached out to Tom Dixon, accomplished industrial designer, to help reduce food waste and encourage people to grow edible plants. This year the focus is to develop prototypes and get ready for the 2021 global launch.